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Afghanistan cricket is at its peak now
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Start of Afghanistan cricket's remarkable chapter after their performances in the ICC ODI World Cup 2023
- Thread starter Major
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After South Africa's loss to Afghanistan in the first ODI in Sharjah, India stands as the only team unbeaten against Afghanistan in international cricket.
RedwoodOriginal
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Afghanistan's rise in limited-overs continues to be one of the most remarkable stories in cricket.
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They really dominated South africa yesterday.
RedwoodOriginal
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Them beating big teams doesn't feel like something out of the blue anymore. Remarkable to think all this has happened within the space of a year.
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Afghanistan gear up for Champions Trophy 2025 with a historic series win against South Africa
Afghanistan firm in form with major tournament on the horizon by claiming arguably their biggest series win, and with a young batter leading the way.
On the road to Champions Trophy 2025, Afghanistan have put the cricket world on notice, claiming their first-ever series win over a top-five ICC-ranked side (South Africa) in the UAE.
The Blue Tigers claimed matches one and two in convincing fashion to take the Sharjah series bragging rights, winning the matches by six wickets (and with 144 balls to spare) and 177 runs respectively, bowling out the Proteas for scores of 106 and 134. South Africa would go on to claim the third match in consolation, chasing down a target of just 170.
South Africa (ranked third) are Afghanistan's biggest catch in ODIs, with their 13 bilateral ODI series previously coming against Zimbabwe (5), Ireland (4), Scotland (2), Bangladesh and The Netherlands (one each).
It was again young batter Rahmanullah Gurbaz, who stood up for Afghanistan, whose early career start has record-keepers checking their books.
The 22-year-old made 105 and 89 in matches two and three, ending the series as the most prolific batter even with a duck in the first match. The century, his seventh in ODIs, puts him level with Virat Kohli for equal third-most hundreds in the format scored before turning 23, and only bettered by Sachin Tendulkar and Quinton de Kock (eight apiece).
A key figure in Afghanistan's fabled Cricket World Cup 2023 run, it's beginning to look like his class is permanent - only three batters needed fewer innings to reach seven ODI centuries - Babar Azam (33), Imam-ul-Haq (36) and Hashim Amla (41).
Unsurprisingly, it was a returning Rashid Khan who spearheaded the Afghan bowling attack, taking a series high of seven wickets (at an average of 7.00) even after missing the third match with a tight hamstring.
The Afghans are ninth on the ICC Men's ODI Team Rankings, with a rating of 82, fractionally behind Bangladesh (86).
Afghanistan meet South Africa again in their Champions Trophy group, alongside Australia and England from mid-February
ICC
Afghanistan firm in form with major tournament on the horizon by claiming arguably their biggest series win, and with a young batter leading the way.
On the road to Champions Trophy 2025, Afghanistan have put the cricket world on notice, claiming their first-ever series win over a top-five ICC-ranked side (South Africa) in the UAE.
The Blue Tigers claimed matches one and two in convincing fashion to take the Sharjah series bragging rights, winning the matches by six wickets (and with 144 balls to spare) and 177 runs respectively, bowling out the Proteas for scores of 106 and 134. South Africa would go on to claim the third match in consolation, chasing down a target of just 170.
South Africa (ranked third) are Afghanistan's biggest catch in ODIs, with their 13 bilateral ODI series previously coming against Zimbabwe (5), Ireland (4), Scotland (2), Bangladesh and The Netherlands (one each).
It was again young batter Rahmanullah Gurbaz, who stood up for Afghanistan, whose early career start has record-keepers checking their books.
The 22-year-old made 105 and 89 in matches two and three, ending the series as the most prolific batter even with a duck in the first match. The century, his seventh in ODIs, puts him level with Virat Kohli for equal third-most hundreds in the format scored before turning 23, and only bettered by Sachin Tendulkar and Quinton de Kock (eight apiece).
A key figure in Afghanistan's fabled Cricket World Cup 2023 run, it's beginning to look like his class is permanent - only three batters needed fewer innings to reach seven ODI centuries - Babar Azam (33), Imam-ul-Haq (36) and Hashim Amla (41).
Unsurprisingly, it was a returning Rashid Khan who spearheaded the Afghan bowling attack, taking a series high of seven wickets (at an average of 7.00) even after missing the third match with a tight hamstring.
The Afghans are ninth on the ICC Men's ODI Team Rankings, with a rating of 82, fractionally behind Bangladesh (86).
Afghanistan meet South Africa again in their Champions Trophy group, alongside Australia and England from mid-February
ICC
FearlessRoar
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After Afghanistan's 2-0 win in the ODI series against Zimbabwe, they have now secured six consecutive series victories this year.
The winning run began in March with victories over Ireland in both the ODI and T20I series. This was followed by ODI wins against South Africa in September and Bangladesh in November. The streak extended with two successful white-ball series against Zimbabwe, marking a total of six straight series wins in 2024.
The winning run began in March with victories over Ireland in both the ODI and T20I series. This was followed by ODI wins against South Africa in September and Bangladesh in November. The streak extended with two successful white-ball series against Zimbabwe, marking a total of six straight series wins in 2024.
FearlessRoar
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Mohammad Hafeez, while speaking on a show on a media platform:
"Afghanistan is Asia’s second-best ODI team; we have to accept that because their performances show that they are playing better than many teams in Asia. If you talk about Sri Lanka, Bangladesh, or even Pakistan in terms of form, the way Pakistan is playing cricket, there is no doubt that after India, the team that is rising and improving its performances is Afghanistan."
"Now, the key thing to see is how they perform in ICC events. The way they played in the 50-over World Cup and now in another ICC event—it’s clear that their biggest strength is their passion to represent their country. I believe that even if their talent and experience may not be at the highest level, their passion makes their performances very strong."
"So, I mostly believe that they are not an easy team by any means. They are one of the teams that can defeat any side on any given day. And in these conditions, especially starting from Karachi, where they have three spinners and possibly a fourth in Mohammad Nabi, they have strong options."
"Their only weak link, in my view, is their batting, which is not yet at the level to consistently perform in all conditions at the international stage. But if their batting becomes capable of scoring 260-270 runs, or if they manage to do so in Karachi, they can beat anyone in Karachi conditions."
"Afghanistan is Asia’s second-best ODI team; we have to accept that because their performances show that they are playing better than many teams in Asia. If you talk about Sri Lanka, Bangladesh, or even Pakistan in terms of form, the way Pakistan is playing cricket, there is no doubt that after India, the team that is rising and improving its performances is Afghanistan."
"Now, the key thing to see is how they perform in ICC events. The way they played in the 50-over World Cup and now in another ICC event—it’s clear that their biggest strength is their passion to represent their country. I believe that even if their talent and experience may not be at the highest level, their passion makes their performances very strong."
"So, I mostly believe that they are not an easy team by any means. They are one of the teams that can defeat any side on any given day. And in these conditions, especially starting from Karachi, where they have three spinners and possibly a fourth in Mohammad Nabi, they have strong options."
"Their only weak link, in my view, is their batting, which is not yet at the level to consistently perform in all conditions at the international stage. But if their batting becomes capable of scoring 260-270 runs, or if they manage to do so in Karachi, they can beat anyone in Karachi conditions."
Bhaijaan
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Thanks Ravi bhai for supporting our cricket
sweep_shot
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Bravo, Afghanistan.
2023 WC, 2024 World T20, and now 2025 CT. They are on a roll.
2023 WC, 2024 World T20, and now 2025 CT. They are on a roll.
Bhaijaan
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Thanks for supporting our cricket team.
Bhaijaan
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Bhaijaan
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Thank you Master Blaster
sweep_shot
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Afghanistan always have had great spinners. They were just missing good batters and good pacers. They have finally gotten those missing batters and pacers.
They are now a pretty competitive LOI team. They can challenge the best.
They are now a pretty competitive LOI team. They can challenge the best.
Bhaijaan
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Champions, legends who impacted the life of millions of Afghans and gave them happiness
Rana
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6. Azmatullah
7. Mohammad Nabi
8. Gulbuddin Naib
Who has a stronger 6-8 than this in the current CT?
7. Mohammad Nabi
8. Gulbuddin Naib
Who has a stronger 6-8 than this in the current CT?
Rana
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Even that bloke called Jannat (Asif Ali) has improved his batting a lot
He bats better than nearly all of Pakistan’s batters in white ball cricket (besides Fakhar and Saim)
aboveandbeyond
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Its remarkable to think the calibre of player Afganistan produce, without a professional cricketing structure in place.
Just think, with proper facilities and structure, these guys could be World Beaters.
Just think, with proper facilities and structure, these guys could be World Beaters.
FearlessRoar
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FearlessRoar
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Dale Steyn believes the rapidly rising Afghanistan team could win an ICC limited-overs tournament within the next decade, as he stated on a sports media outlet:
"We live in a time now where people are not patient enough. We can hardly watch two seconds on an Instagram story and it just feels like the Afghanistan players are similar when they're playing their cricket."
"Patience is one of the biggest things that Afghanistan players need to learn, and once they get that down, honestly, in the next decade, they could win ICC tournaments, for sure."
"They want things to happen so quickly. This ball must be a wicket, there's no patience to building up and taking a wicket. The batters are the same sometimes, they're batting in the first over. There's so much movement happening in the crease, so they're trying to hit a six and they're trying to get the game going."
"Back in the day, a lot of players would go play county cricket. Or they would go play first-class cricket to improve their skills and improve their patience really."
"I think a lot of them (Afghanistan players) play T20 cricket around the world, which is great, it's great for their pockets and it's great for them to learn."
"But, maybe, spending some time in four-day games might help, because one-day cricket is essentially a shortened version of a Test match."
"We live in a time now where people are not patient enough. We can hardly watch two seconds on an Instagram story and it just feels like the Afghanistan players are similar when they're playing their cricket."
"Patience is one of the biggest things that Afghanistan players need to learn, and once they get that down, honestly, in the next decade, they could win ICC tournaments, for sure."
"They want things to happen so quickly. This ball must be a wicket, there's no patience to building up and taking a wicket. The batters are the same sometimes, they're batting in the first over. There's so much movement happening in the crease, so they're trying to hit a six and they're trying to get the game going."
"Back in the day, a lot of players would go play county cricket. Or they would go play first-class cricket to improve their skills and improve their patience really."
"I think a lot of them (Afghanistan players) play T20 cricket around the world, which is great, it's great for their pockets and it's great for them to learn."
"But, maybe, spending some time in four-day games might help, because one-day cricket is essentially a shortened version of a Test match."
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